Indian Stock News by Experts

Mkts tumble 4.44%, tank 11% in the month

<DIV>The BSE Sensex tumbled 726.85 points, or 4.44%, at 16,371.29, losing about 11% this month; while the broad-based NSE Nifty slumped 207.5 points, or 4.20% to close at 4734.50. Global Cues Asian stocks closed negative on Monday (Mar. 31, 2008) as concerns regarding the U.S. consumer spending that will erode exports of cars, clothing and electronics escalated. Market statistics Market breadth was mixed. Out of the total 2,699 stocks traded at the BSE, 1,365 advanced, 1,291 declined while 43 remained unchanged. Among the sectoral indices at BSE Realty slumped 5.39%, BSE IT fell 5.60%, BSE Bankex slumped 5.89%, BSE Metal and BSE Oil & Gas each fell 4.31%. Movers and Shakers There were only four companies which made to the gainers list. Cipla closed up 1.01% at Rs 219.75, M&M settled up 0.66% at Rs 695.65. Bharti Airtel and ITC just managed to close in the green. Losers at the BSE Sensex include HDFC which tanked 8.79% to settle at Rs 2,383.75, ICICI Bank fell 7.79%, DLF tumbled 7.07%, TCS, ONGC, Wipro, Infosys, Reliance Energy and Hindalco each slumped over 6%. Top Volumes & Values Ispat Industries topped the volume chart with 23.38 million shares, RNRL witnessed volumes of 13.26 million shares, Orchid Chemicals 11.77 million and IFCI 11.37 million shares. Turnover wise Reliance Capital topped the chart with a turnover of Rs 3.24 billion, followed by GSS America (Rs 2.89 billion), RIL (Rs 2.57 billion) and Orchid Chemicals (Rs 1.87 billion).</DIV>

Mkts tumble 4.44%, tank 11% in the month

The BSE Sensex tumbled 726.85 points, or 4.44%, at 16,371.29, losing about 11% this month; while the broad-based NSE Nifty slumped 207.5 po...

Post Market Commentary - March 31 2008

<DIV>The market closed in a deep red territory backed by the weak cues from the global markets. The market opened on a sad note and kept on hovering in the negative territory throughout the trading session. The Asian market which opened befor the Indian market were trading in red that led the domestic market to open with heavy gap down. Also the report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), that cited that the companies have to disclose losses on a mark-to-market basis incurred due to derivatives trades from the current financial year onwards (year ending March 2008) and this was as a precursor to making a new accounting standard mandatory from April 2011. This led to the negative sentiments among the investors in the market. From, the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices closed in red. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 726.85 points at 15,644.44 and NSE Nifty fell by 207.5 points at 4,734.50. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps also closed lower by 94.97 points and 60.36 points at 6,427.82 and 7,841.62 respectively The market breadth was little strong as 1,365 stocks closed in green as against 1,291 stocks that closed in red. The BSE Realty index closed lower by 430.12 points at 7,554.80 as HDIL (8.68%), DLF (7.07%), Phoenix mill (6.04%), Unitech (5.31%), Ansal Infra (5.29%), Omaxe (3.88%), Indbull Real (3.56%) and Akruti City (2.70%) closed in red. The Metal index declined by 631.63 points to close at 14,022.56. Major losers are Bhushan Steel (8.23%), Gujrat NRE (8.20%), SAIL (6.46%), Hindalco Inds (6.10%), Sterlite Inds (5.61%) and Tata Steel (3.29%). The Bankex index fell by 482.63 points to close at 7,717.61 as ICICI bank (7.79%), Yes bank (7.61%), BOI (7.11%), Kotak bank (6.35%), HDFC bank (5.79%), BOB (5.77%), Oriental bank (4.87%) and SBI (4.81%) closed lower. The Capital Goods index dropped by 446.42 points to close at 14,009.02. Losers are Siemens (6.77%), Punj Lloyd (6.48%), Jyoti Structures (5.92%), Crompton Greaves (4.35%), L&T (3.89%), BEML (3.88%), AIA Engineering (1.96%) and ABB (1.84%). The Oil and Gas index slipped by 450.79 points to close at 10,016.82 as Essar Oil (7.94%), ONGC (6.68%), RNRL (5.41%), BPCL (5.19%), Reliance Inds (3.54%), RPL (3.37%), HPCL (2.81%). The IT index decreased by 210.42 points to close at 3,547.61. Scrips that fell are HCL Tech (6.93%), TCS (6.80%), Wipro (6.32%), Infosys (6.30%), Aptech (6.03%), Satyam (3.40%). From the Power index, Reliance Energy 6.19%, GMR Infra (4.73%), Reliance Power (4.90%), NTPC (3.55%), Tata Power (3.24%) and GVK Power (2.08%).</DIV>

Post Market Commentary - March 31 2008

The market closed in a deep red territory backed by the weak cues from the global markets. The market opened on a sad note and kept on hove...

Sensex up nearly 20% in financial year ended March 2008

<DIV>Sustained selling pressure in blue chips ever since the opening bell spooked the bourses today. Negative cues from global markets dampened sentiment. The sentiment was also hit by reports that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has asked companies to disclose losses on a mark-to-market basis incurred due to derivatives trades from the current financial year onwards (year ending March 2008), as a precursor to making a new accounting standard -- the AS-30 -- mandatory from 1 April 2011. This may hit Q4 March 2008 and FY 2008 (year ending March 2008) bottom line of Indian firms. European markets, which opened after Indian markets, were weak in early trade. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were in red. US stocks dropped on Friday, 28 March 2008, as a profit warning from US department store chain J.C. Penney raised concerns about slowing consumer spending while persistent worries about credit-related problems throttled financial stocks. A prominent analyst warned that earnings will not support current dividend payouts in 2008 at Citigroup, Wachovia Corp and other US banks. The BSE Sensex dipped below 16,000 mark. 28 stocks from the 30-member Sensex pack declined. Despite the sharp fall, the market breadth was positive. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 726.85 points or 4.44% at 15,644.44. Sensex had opened with a downward gap of 144.63 points at 16,226.66 and slipped 808.14 points to touch day's low of 15,563.15 in late trade. As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 865.79 crore today. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 566.03 crore. The BSE Sensex lost 4642.55 points or 22.88% in the quarter ended March 2008. The Sensex gained 2572.34 points or 19.67% in the financial year 2008, from its close of 13072.10 on 30 March 2007. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty plunged 207.50 points or 4.20% at 4,734.50. Nifty lost 1404.10 points or 22.87% from 6,138.60 on 31 December 2007 in the quarter ended March 2008. Nifty rose 912.95 points or 23.88% in the financial year 2008, from its close of 3821.55 on 30 March 2007. Nifty April 2008 futures were at 4715, a discount of 19.50 points as compared to spot closing. The ICAI norm requires companies to provide for all losses, including those that may occur due to trading in derivatives. Indian companies are sitting on huge losses on account of the forex derivative transactions they undertook during the year. A steep decline in the value of the US dollar against the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc has hit Indian corporates which have used these two currencies (Yen and Franc) extensively to swap their rupee denominated debt. There are many companies, which are not disclosing these losses, as it is not mandatory to show these numbers in the balance sheets. But with the new accounting norms they now have some compulsions. Companies, which thought that they could escape declaring the losses, will now have to come forward and show their numbers, which could hit their balance sheet, which, in turn, may impact their market capitalisation. Earlier, robust corporate advance tax payments in Q4 March 2008 indicated that corporate profit growth will be strong in the quarter. Advance tax figures showed banks, hospitality and software firms were doing better than sectors like automobiles and cement. Despite the market crash, the market breadth was positive: On BSE 1,356 shares advanced as compared to 1,302 that declined. 45 shares remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.46% to 6,427.82 while the BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.76% to 7,841.62. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex The total turnover amounted to Rs 5912 crore on BSE as compared to Rs 6,463.99 crore on Friday, 28 March 2008. Total turnover in NSE's futures & options segment amounted to Rs 47200.87 crore as compared to Rs 49087.03 crore on Friday, 28 March 2008. All sectoral indices on BSE posted losses. The BSE IT index (down 5.60% to 3,547.61), the BSE Bankex (down 5.89% at 7,717.61), the BSE Realty index (down 5.39% at 7,554.80), underperformed the Sensex The BSE Auto (down 4.31% at 10,016.82), the BSE Consumer Durables index (down 3.52% to 3,883.29), the BSE FMCG index (down 1.23% at 2,290.07), the BSE Health Care index (down 0.18% at 3,848.11), the BSE TecK index (down 3.93% to 3,024.13), the BSE Power (down 3.40% to 3,189.81), the BSE Capital Goods index (down 3.09% at 14,009.02), the BSE Metal index (down 4.31% to 14,022.56), the BSE Oil & Gas index (down 4.31% to 10,016.82), and the BSE PSU index (down 3.67% to 7,426.83), outperformed the Sensex India's largest dedicated housing finance provider in terms of net profit Housing Development Finance Corporation slumped 9.10% to Rs 2376.20 on 2.74 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack. Banking shares slumped. HDFC Bank (down 6.87% to Rs 1304.85), ICICI Bank (down 8.03% to Rs 768.10), and State Bank of India (down 4.26% to Rs 1608.15), also slipped. India's largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries lost 4.11% to Rs 2251 on 11.24 lakh shares. The stock moved in a range of Rs 2251 and Rs 2340 during the day. IT pivotals were hit on worries a recession in US may impact their revenues. Infosys Technologies (down 6.31% to Rs 1429), Satyam Computers (down 3.42% to Rs 394.50), Wipro (down 8.59% to Rs 415), and TCS (down 7.94% to Rs 801), declined. IT firms derive majority of their revenue from exports to US markers. Reliance Energy, the country's largest private sector power utility company in terms of net profit slipped 6.12% to Rs 1252. The company has bought back 6.50 lakh equity shares since the start of the offer on Tuesday, 25 March 2008 aggregating Rs 83.15 crore Hindalco Industries (down 6.13% to Rs 164.70), DLF (down 7.14% to Rs 646) and ONGC (down 6.61% to Rs 982), edged lower from the Sensex pack. Cipla, the country's third largest pharma company in terms of sales, gained 0.96% to Rs 219.60 on 4.83 lakh shares. It was the lone gainer from Sensex pack. Reliance Capital was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 323.48 crore followed by GSS America Systems (Rs 288.50 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 257.43 crore), Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (Rs 187.09 crore), and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 162.10 crore), in that order. Ispat Industries led the volume charts clocking volumes of 2.34 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (1.33 crore shares), Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (1.18 crore shares), IFCI (1.14 crore shares) and Reliance Petroleum (1.02 crore shares), in that order Among the side counters, Axon Infotech (up 19.11% to Rs 41.45), Aro Granite (up 19.51% to Rs 102), Indowind Energy (up 20% to Rs 68.20), and Sulzer India (up 20% to Rs 687), surged Action Construction Equipment (down 13.45% to Rs 75.75), ECE Industries (down 11.95% to Rs 330), India Infoline (down 11.30% to Rs 760), and Indiabulls Financial Services (down 13.12% to Rs 410), slipped. Tyre stocks rose on reports that tyre manufacturers are gearing up to increase prices following a surge in input costs. CEAT (up 6.10% to Rs 108), Govind Rubber (up 3.91% to Rs 14.60), Premier Tyre (up 2.63% to Rs 29.25) edged higher. Era Infra Engineering was down 0.25% to Rs 594.90 after the company secured a contract worth Rs 20 crore for supply of ready mix concrete in New Delhi. Cairn India slipped 3.02% to Rs 223.15. The company posted net higher loss of Rs 78.82 crore in the year ended December 2007 as compared to net loss of Rs 29.22 crore in the year ended December 2006. Cairn India's total income rose 474.60% to Rs 33.96 crore in the year ended 31 December 2007 over the year ended 31 December 2006. The company announced the results before trading hours today, 31 March 2008. Bhushan Steel slipped 8.76% to Rs 659 after the company said it is planning to set up a value added steel plant in Chennai with a production capacity of 0.5 million tonne per annum and total investment of about Rs 500 crore. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 31 March 2008. Suven Life Sciences declined 4.24% to Rs 31.65 after the company said it has secured patent rights in Mexico and Korea for two of its new chemical entities for the treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases. City Union Bank declined 2.76% to Rs 28.20 after bank said it would issue 80 million shares by way of qualified institutional placement. The bank made this announcement after market hours on Friday, 28 March 2008. Spanco Telesystems & Solutions fell 2.14% to Rs 160.25. The stock surged to a high of Rs 180 after the company said on Monday, 31 March 2008, it won orders worth Rs 166 crore from various parties. Amtek Auto declined 0.92% to Rs 258 after company said it may suffer losses up to $18 million in the next two years due to volatility in the global currency market. The company made this announcement after market hours on Friday, 28 March 2008. Diamond Cables rose 1.13% to Rs 340 after the company received an engineering procurement and construction order for implementation of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna in Gujarat. The key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (down 0.55% to 5,661.80), France (down 0.50% to 4,4672.40), and Germany (down 1.46% to 6,464.63), edged lower. Asian markets settled lower today, 31 March 2008. Hang Seng (down 1.88% at 22,849.20), Japan's Nikkei (down 2.30% at 12,525.54), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 0.59% at 8,572.59), Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.81% at 3,007.26), Shanghai Composite (down 3% to 3,472.13), edged lower. However South Korea's Seoul Composite rose 0.13% to 1,703.99 US markets closed lower on Friday, 28 March 2008 after a profit warning from J.C. Penney renewed fears about slower consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 86.06 points, or 0.70%, to 12,216.40. The S&P 500 index was down 10.54 points, or 0.80%, to 1,315.22, and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 19.65 points, or 0.86%, to 2,261.18.</DIV>

Sensex up nearly 20% in financial year ended March 2008

Sustained selling pressure in blue chips ever since the opening bell spooked the bourses today. Negative cues from global markets dampened ...

Precious metals end lower

<DIV> Gold and silver prices end lower on the last day of the week though gains on a weekly basis Bullion metals ended lower on Friday, 28 March, 2008 as other commodities too declined across the board. Dollar rebounded on Friday and thus precious metals ended lower. A lower dollar pushes up precious metal prices as their demand lessens as it becomes cheaper for traders holding other currencies and vice versa. Silver prices fell for the day. Comex Gold for June delivery fell $17.20 (1.8%) to close at $936.8 ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, 17 March, prices skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. For the week, gold prices gained 1.1%. This year, gold prices have gained 14.1% till date. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006. For February, it gained 6%. But in March, prices have succumbed and fell by 3%. Comex Silver futures for May delivery fell 60 cents (3.2%) to $17.955 an ounce. Silver has gained 28% in 2008. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%. In February, it gained another 15%. For March, it ended lower by 1%. For the week, silver gained 6%. In the energy market on Friday, oil fell for the first time in three sessions, touching $105.22 a barrel after supply concerns continued after a pipeline explosion in southern Iraq cut supplies to the country's main export terminal earlier in the week. At the MCX, gold prices for April delivery closed lower by Rs 347 (2.8%) at Rs 11,987 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 12,340 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 11,907 per 10 grams during the day's trading. At the MCX, silver prices for May delivery closed Rs 1,009 (4.2%) lower at Rs 22,939/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 23,841/kg and fell to a low of Rs 22,680/Kg during the day's trading.</DIV>

Precious metals end lower

Gold and silver prices end lower on the last day of the week though gains on a weekly basis Bullion metals ended lower on Friday, 28 March...

Crude falls below $106

<DIV> Prices close below $106 as consumer spending remains flat in February and dollar rebounds Crude prices fell substantially lower on Friday, 28 March, 2008 as fresh concerns about the health of the US economy cropped up. Ongoing supply tensions from Iraq and rebounding dollar also weighed on the crude prices for the day. In the previous three sessions prior to Friday, crude had gained more than $7. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $105.62/barrel (lower by $1.96/barrel or 1.8%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices are 65% higher on a yearly basis. The crude ended the week lower by more 3%. Also helping to push oil higher this week was the weak dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, has dropped 1.4% this week. The Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S. consumer spending was flat in February after adjusting for inflation, the third consecutive month of weak consumer demand. Earlier in the week, it was reported that a pipeline explosion took place in southern Iraq cutting supplies to the country's main export terminal. Also, clashes between Iraqi forces and militants were raging. Natural gas advanced as speculators who had sold contracts in bad bets on falling prices bought the positions back to protect gains or limit losses. Natural gas for May delivery rose 11.3 cents (1.2%) to settle at $9.80 per million British thermal units. Against this backdrop, May reformulated gasoline fell slightly to $2.7135 a gallon, while May heating oil dropped 4.99 cents to $2.9876 a gallon. Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude's biggest yearly gain in five years. At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 4,171/barrel, lower by Rs 133 (3.1%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for April delivery closed at Rs 387.4/mmtbu, lower by Rs 1.9/mmtbu (0.5%)</DIV>

Crude falls below $106

Prices close below $106 as consumer spending remains flat in February and dollar rebounds Crude prices fell substantially lower on Friday,...

Pay commission recommends liberal hike and Cabinet approves farmers relief

<DIV> Sixth pay panel recommends liberal pay hikes The Sixth Pay Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and asked for a substantial hike in salaries for central government employees across the board. The new pay scale will come into effect from January 1, 2006. The report will now be presented to the Union Cabinet for its consideration. The pay panel is set up once a decade to assess civil servant salaries. The pay hike will cost the Government a net Rs79.75bn (US$2bn) in the financial year ending March 31, 2009. Apart from this, the Government will have to make an additional, one-time payment of Rs180.6bn for salary arrears. The commission recommended a salary increase of 77% for the lowest rung of central government workers. It suggested minimum wage of Rs6,660 a month and maximum salary of Rs80,000 a month for government employees. The previous pay commission was set up in April 1994 and submitted its report in January 1997. The subsequent pay increase cost the Government Rs170bn (US$4.2bn) annually. States were forced to match the pay hike, swelling the combined central and state deficit to nearly 10% of GDP. Some economists fear a similar slippage in the fiscal deficit this time around. Cabinet okays farmers debt relief fund The Cabinet gave its approval for creation of a Farmers' Debt Relief Fund with an initial corpus of Rs100bn to be transferred from the Consolidated Fund of India to Public Accounts during the financial year 2007-08. The Cabinet gave its approval for augmentation of the fund required for reimbursing the lending institutions the amount of debt waiver /relief granted by them. Accordingly, the fund will subsequently be enhanced by Rs150bn in FY09, Rs150bn in FY10, Rs120bn in FY11 and Rs83.14bn in FY12. A scheme of debt waiver for farmers was announced in the Budget 2008-09. The scheme is aimed at mitigating the hardships being faced by the farmers in general and small and marginal farmers in particular. Upon being granted, debt waiver or signing an agreement for debt relief under the One Time Settlement (OTS), farmers would be entitled to fresh agricultural loans from banks in accordance with normal rules. The implementation of the debt waiver and debt relief scheme will be completed by June 30.</DIV>

Pay commission recommends liberal hike and Cabinet approves farmers relief

Sixth pay panel recommends liberal pay hikes The Sixth Pay Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and asked ...

No fun subscribing to IPOs this season..

<DIV>Investors have lost around quarter of the amount raised by 18 IPOs this calendar year as 13 of them are trading below their issue prices, a top Finance Ministry official said on Saturday. "Out of the 18 IPOs launched in 2008, 13 were trading at a discount last week implying losses to investors of about a quarter of the total IPO amount. I think, it must be larger today," Finance Secretary D Subbarao said at a seminar on Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules here. If the situation continues, it would be increasingly difficult for corporates to raise money from the capital market, he said. The Finance Secretary attributed weak sentiment in the market to increasing risk-aversion among investors. "The stock market provided 15 billion dollars in 2007 to support investments of firms. But, as global risk aversion has risen in the past few months, this has dented investors sentiments in India too," he added. Of the total IPOs listed on stock exchanges this year, 11 companies had an issue price above Rs 100. The aggressive pricing of the IPOs have led the companies to lose substantially being unable to sustain the prices in long-term. In fact, reliance power launched with much fanfare, closed at Rs 372.50 on the opening day, much below its offer price of Rs 450 a share, forcing the company to issue three bonus shares for every five held by non-promoters. However, state-run rural electrification corporation was trading higher at Rs 109.05 against its issue price of Rs 105 and GSS America at Rs 640.85 against an issue price of Rs 400. The bearish sentiments in the market has led to 13 firms witnessing red in the market. The Sensex, which opened above 20,300 points in January, has dipped 4,000 points to about 16,400 points since then till yesterday.</DIV>

No fun subscribing to IPOs this season..

Investors have lost around quarter of the amount raised by 18 IPOs this calendar year as 13 of them are trading below their issue prices, a...

Inflation scares the Govt, may take steps on Monday

<DIV>Concerned at "disturbing" inflation, that spiralled to over 13-month high of 6.68 percent, the government has decided to hold a meeting of high-level Cabinet Committee on Monday to take stock of rising prices, Finance Secretary D Subbarao said on Saturday. A high-level Cabinet Committee will meet on Monday to take stock of high inflation that has surged to over 13-month high of 6.68 percent, a top finance ministry official said on Saturday. "The Cabinet Committee on prices will meet on Monday," Finance Secretary D Subbarao told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on proposed amendments to `securities contracts (regulations) rules`. Earlier addressing the seminar, Subbarao said yesterday`s inflation numbers, which were quite disturbing, were partly due to high global commodity prices. Commodity prices are rising globally despite fears of recession in the US, he said at the seminar organised by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. "Generally, we expect commodity prices will go down when there is recession in the developed countries. If you look at past recession in the US, there is depression in commodity prices. But, this time there is elevation in commodity prices together with recession in the US," he said. Together with surging inflation, the rupee had also risen yesterday to the highest level in a month to go below crucial 40-level to stand at 39.89/90 against the dollar, up 20.50 paise over the previous closing. Subbarao said exports have come under double pressure because of appreciation in the rupee and low demand due to recession in the US. Metal and food prices spurted inflation to the highest number in over a year, much above the RBI`s tolerance level of 5 percent. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said yesterday that the government would take every measure to keep prices under check, even at the cost of slowing down the economic growth. "The government is determined to take all steps -- fiscal, monetary and supply side -- to moderate inflation and if that means we have to live with slightly lesser growth, so be it," he had said in Mumbai. Describing inflation as a regressive tax, he had said, "we have to balance between inflation and growth." Attributing high rate of inflation to global crude, food and commodity prices, the Finance Minister had said interest rates are the most effective instrument to contain price rise. Analysts also said they did not rule out further tightening of monetary stance by the reserve bank at its annual monetary policy review, slated for April 29, even if it costs some growth. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had said in Delhi, "any rise in inflation is a matter of concern ...Government is looking at a proposal to ban non-basmati rice exports. We are also going to recommend scrapping of import duty on steel."</DIV>

Inflation scares the Govt, may take steps on Monday

Concerned at "disturbing" inflation, that spiralled to over 13-month high of 6.68 percent, the government has decided to hold a m...

Market ends up 9% higher for the week

The long bear phase seems to have ended as the stock markets witnessed an impressive relief rally lifting the benchmark Sensex by 9% during...

SBI, HDIL, ICICI Bank April 2008 futures at premium

Turnover in F&O segment declines Nifty April 2008 futures were at 4986.70, at a premium of 44.70 points as compared to spot closing of...

Inflation soars to 13-month peak

<DIV>Even as the Government is taking steps to remove supply side bottlenecks for key consumer and industrial commodities, inflation has raced past the 6% mark to touch the highest level in about 13 months. Inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), shot up to 6.68% in the week ended March 15 from 5.92% in the previous week, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said. The steep jump in the annual point-to-point inflation was largely due to higher prices of electricity, metals and certain fuels and was well above average forecast of 5.96%. It is also the highest since January 27, 2007, when inflation was 6.69%. The annual inflation rate was 6.56% during the corresponding week of the previous year. The WPI for All-Commodities rose 0.8% to 223.6 in the second week of March from 221.8 in the previous week. The index for Primary Articles was up 0.3% at 230.50 while the index for Fuel & Power climbed 1% to 341.0 and the index for Manufactured Products gained 0.9% at 195.0. Meanwhile, the Government also revised the inflation rate for the week ended January 19, 2008 to 4.45% from a provisional estimate of 3.93%, while the WPI for the same period stood revised at 218.2 compared to 217.1. From around 4% in the early part of February, inflation has surged to the highest levels in 59 weeks, partly because of the fuel price hike effected in February and partly due to a global rally in a whole host of commodities. The current inflation is way above the tolerable level of 5% set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). What is more alarming is that prices are rising even as the economy is slowing. This is surely going to give a headache to policymakers. Not to long ago, analysts, bankers and India Inc. were clamouring for a reduction in interest rates as inflation was under control. But, in a matter of a few weeks, the scenario has changed considerably with inflation crossing 6%. And, if the price situation doesn't improve much over the next few weeks, the RBI will be in a fix when it frames its annual policy for next year. It may not jack up rates or hike CRR as growth is slowing down and credit offtake is also down. Given the limited options at its disposal, the central bank may allow the rupee to appreciate for tackling imported inflation.</DIV>

Inflation soars to 13-month peak

Even as the Government is taking steps to remove supply side bottlenecks for key consumer and industrial commodities, inflation has raced p...

Post Market Commentary - March 28 2008

<DIV>The Indian market took a big leap after the mid session to close with handsome gains on the back of heavy buying across all the sectors. Tracking the favoring cues from the Asian market, the domestic market opened on a firm note but lost the grip towards the mid session on the back of weak inflation data that grew to its 13 month high of 6.68% in the week ended March 15 from the previous week rise of 5.92%. But the market gathered the momentum after the mid session to recover from the fall and kept on marching forward till the final closing of the session. From, the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices closed in green while the metal, capital goods and realty index saw more buying by the investors. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 355.73 points at 16,371.29 and NSE Nifty closed up by 111.75 points at 4,942. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps also closed higher by 246.53 points and 375.20 points at 6,522.79 and 7,901.98 respectively The market breadth was very strong as 2,333 stocks closed in green as against 370 stocks that closed in red. Major gainers from the Sensex pack are Tata Steel 9.46%, L&T 6.19%, Infosys 5.94%, Wipro 5.56%, BHEL 5.37%. The BSE Realty index closed up 333.63 points to close at 7,984.92 as HDIL 18.55%, Akruti City 15.01%, Mahindra Life 9.66%, Purvankara 8.04%, Indiabull Real 4.04%, Ansal Infra 4.03% closed higher.. The Metal index surged 800.21 points to close at 14,654.19. Major gainers are Jindal Steel 15.91%, Tata Steel 9.46%, Sterlite Inds 5.18%, Welspun Guj 7.12%, Ispat Inds 5.70% and Jindal saw 4.48%. The Bankex index closed with marginal gains of 23.58 points at 8,200.24 as Oriental bank 3.92%, BOB 3.63%, Andhra bank 3.51%, Canara bank 2.69%, IOB 1.99%, Union bank 1.85%, SBI 1.77% closed in green. The Capital Goods index grew by 740.70 points to close at 14,455.14. Gainers are Suzlon energy 12.57%, Alsotom projects 7.47%, Praj Inds 6.96%, L&T 6.19%, Punj Lloyd 5.90%, AIA Engineering 5.76% and BEML 3.76%. The Oil and Gas index closed up by 306.63 points at 10,467.61 as Cairn India 6.95%, BPCL 5.47%, Essar Oil 5.40%, RNRL 5.35%, RPL 4.69%, Aban Offshore 3.93%, Reliance Inds 3.19% and HPCL 2.51% closed in positive. The IT index increased by 178.28 points to close at 3,758.03. Scrips that gained are Mosear Baer 20.01%, Finance Tech 11.26%, Mphasis 10.65%, Patni Comp 10.06%, Infosys 5.94%, Wipro 5.56% and Tech Mahindra 5.25%. From the Power index, Suzlon energy 12.57%, Torrent Power 8.27%, Tata Power 3.56%, Bhel 5.37%, GMR infra 4.55% and Reliance Power 1.72% closed higher.</DIV>

Post Market Commentary - March 28 2008

The Indian market took a big leap after the mid session to close with handsome gains on the back of heavy buying across all the sectors. Tr...

Investing mistakes you should not make ...

<DIV> Overconfidence - Don't be unrealistically optimistic A bull market makes retail investors believe that they are geniuses - after all, anything they put money into goes up. This overconfidence in their own abilities leads to a complete disregard of the risks involved. Every new generation that invests in the market ignores past experience. These new investors wrongly believe that stock prices only go up. Don't be overconfident and don't start believing that you have superior skills compared to the market. Recognise that in a bull market you are benefiting because the whole market is going up. If those around you are getting unrealistically optimistic, start managing your risk accordingly. Remember that sometimes markets do come crashing down. Over enthusiasm to trade - Not every ball should be hit Good batsmen realise that some balls outside the off-stump should be left alone. Similarly, professional investors realise that sometimes its better to just stand still than to rush into a stock. Retail investors often make the mistake of "flashing outside the off-stump" because they cannot resist the temptation to trade in every opportunity. And, like an inexperienced batsman, they suffer the same fate. Too much trading will lead to a lot of churn, extra commissions to your broker and huge tax implications for you. Some of the world's best investors follow a buy and hold strategy - you should too. Missing the benefits of compounding of capital - Learn from Einstein Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that compounding of capital is the 8th wonder of the world because it allows for the systematic accumulation of wealth. Even though any one in class 5 could tell you how compounding works, retail investors ignore this basic concept. Compounding of capital can benefit you only if you leave your money uninterrupted for a long period of time. The sooner you start investing, the bigger the pool of capital you will end up with for your middle-aged and retirement years. Don't wait to start investing only when you have a large amount of money to put to work. Start early, even if it's with a small amount. Watch this grow to a very large amount with the passage of time. Worrying about the market - But there is no answer to your favourite question Smart investors don't worry about the direction of the market - they worry about the business prospects of the companies whose stocks they own. Retail investors are obsessed with the question "Where do you think the market will go?" This is a wrong question to ask. In fact, no one knows the answer. The right question to ask is whether the company, whose stock you are buying, is going to be a much bigger business 10 years from now or not? Don't take a view on the market, take a view on long-term industry trends and how your chosen companies can create value by exploiting these trends. Timing the market - Around 99% of investors will fail in this strategy Its very difficult to time the market, i.e, be smart enough to buy at the absolute bottom and sell at the absolute top. Professionals understand that timing the market is a wasted exercise. Retail investors always wait for that elusive best opportunity to get in or to get out. But by waiting they let great investment opportunities go by. You should use systematic or regular investment plans to make investments. You'll have to make fewer decisions and yet can accumulate substantial wealth over time. Selling in times of panic - You should be doing the opposite The best opportunity to buy is when the markets are falling and there is fear in the minds of investors. Yet, many retail investors do exactly the opposite. They sell when the markets are falling and buy only when the markets are high. This way they end up losing twice - by selling low and buying high, when they should be doing exactly the opposite. If nothing has changed about the long-term outlook for the company that you own, then you should not sell this company's stock. Use this opportunity to buy more of the same stock in falling markets. Some of the world's biggest fortunes were made by buying when others were selling in panic. Focusing on past performance - Its like driving forward while looking backwards It is a very common perception that because a stock has done well in the past one year, it's the best stock to invest in. Retail investors do not realise that often the best performers will underperform the market in the future because their optimistic outlook has already been priced into the stock. Don't go after hot sectors that are currently producing high returns. Don't let greed drive your investment decisions. Look forward to see whether the gains produced in the past can get repeated or not. Short-term trends of the past might not get repeated in the future. Diversifying too much will kill you - Investing is all about staying alive Beyond a point, having too many names in a portfolio can be counterproductive. You might end up duplicating, or end up taking too much exposure to a sector. Over-diversification can upset your portfolio, especially when you have not done enough research on all the companies you have invested in. If you are an active investor in the stock market, maintain a manageable portfolio of 15-25 names. Instead of adding new names to this portfolio, recognise ideal ones. Then back them with more capital. In the long-run, this will produce better returns for you than adding another 20 names to your portfolio. Investing is all is about patience and discipline. By avoiding mistakes you can improve the long-term performance of your portfolio, whatever the economic conditions prevailing in the market. Via iTrust</DIV>

Investing mistakes you should not make ...

Overconfidence - Don't be unrealistically optimistic A bull market makes retail investors believe that they are geniuses - after all,...

Sensex sails past 16300; Metal, CG trigger rally

<DIV>The market remained upbeat on the extended day's trading session and registered gains of more than 300 points during the intra-day trades on phenomenal buying in metal, consumer goods, information technology (IT) and consumer durables (CD) stocks. After a slight hiccup in early trades, where the Sensex opened 85 points higher over its last close at 16,016 and soon dipped to an intra-day low of 15,884, it came off its early lows and remained firm thereafter on sustained buying support. The index breached the 16,400 mark in early noon trades and appreciated further to touch an intra-day high of 16,452, up 568 points from the day's low. The Sensex finally ended 2.22% or 356 points higher at 16,371, while the Nifty advanced 2.30% or 112 points to close at 4,942. In broader market, gainers outpaced losers by nearly 6:1 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Of the 2,742 stocks traded, 2,333 stocks advanced, 370 stocks declined and 39 stocks ended unchanged. All sectoral indices managed to end with significant gains. The BSE Metal index was the major gainer and soared 5.78% followed by the BSE CG index (up 5.40%), the BSE IT index (up 4.98%), the BSE CD index (up 4.86%), the BSE Realty index (up 4.36% and the BSE Power index (up 4.16%). Leading the upsurge, Tata Steel vaulted 9.46% at Rs716.75, Larsen & Toubro shot up by 6.19% at Rs3,147, Infosys advanced by 5.94% at Rs1,526, Wipro scaled up 5.56% at Rs454 and BHEL moved up by 5.37% at Rs2,092. Among other gainers, Jaiprakash Associates at Rs240.40, NTPC at Rs204.25, REL at Rs1,333, Satyam Computer at Rs408.45, DLF at Rs695.70, RIL at Rs2,347 and ITC at Rs 206.30 gained above 3% each. Select frontline counters however eased on profit taking. HDFC Bank dropped 2.36% at Rs1,401, HDFC declined 1.81% at Rs2,613, ONGC lost 1.65% at Rs1,051 and Tata Motors shed 1.41% at Rs645. Metal stocks witnessed sustained buying support. Jindal Steel flared up 15.91% at Rs2,218, Tata Steel jumped 9.46% at Rs716.75, Welspun Gujarat added 7.12% at Rs389.65, Ispat Industries scaled up 5.70% at Rs32.45 and Sterlite Industries gained 5.18% at Rs756.15. Shree precoated, Jindal Saw, Maharashtra Seamless, Gujarat NRE and Sesa Goa shot up by over 3-5% each. Consumer goods too registered a smart bounce back. Suzlon Energy zoomed 12.57% at Rs270, Alstom Projects soared 7.47% at Rs546, Praj Industries scaled up 6.96% at Rs132.10 and Punj Lloyd surged by 5.90% at Rs333.15. AIA Engineer, Kisloskar Oil, Kalptaru, BHEL, Jyoti Structures, Thermax, Lakshmi Machine and Crompton rose by 4-5% each. Over 1.92 crore Ispat Industries shares changed hands on the BSE followed by RNRL (1.55 crore shares), IFCI (1.02 crore shares), RPL (0.98 crore shares) and Centurion Bank of Punjab (0.83 crore shares). Reliance Industries was the most actively traded counter on the BSE and registered a turnover of Rs356 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs263 crore), HDFC (Rs236 crore), RNRL (Rs160 crore) and SAIL (Rs159 crore)</DIV>

Sensex sails past 16300; Metal, CG trigger rally

The market remained upbeat on the extended day's trading session and registered gains of more than 300 points during the intra-day trad...

Market to take cues from global equities

<DIV>The investors will remain cautious after market reeled under global and domestic pressures recently. The next major trigger for the market is Q4 results of Indian companies which are slated to hit the market next month. The market will also closely look at further global cues. Marketmen are keenly awaiting Q4 and full year March 2008 results from Indian corporates. Robust corporate advance tax payments in Q4 March 2008 indicate that corporate profit growth will be strong in the quarter. Advance tax figures showed banks, hospitality and software firms are doing better than sectors like automobiles and cement. India's economic growth is expected at close to 9% in the fiscal year ending March 2008, finance minister P. Chidambaram said on Wednesday 26 March 2008. He also said problems stemming from the credit markets will also affect India, even though only one Indian lender had exposure to US subprime mortgages. A torrent of bad news such as meltdown in global markets, earnings downgrade recently by brokerages of ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro, lower-than-expected industrial production data for January 2008 and a surge in inflation created havoc on the bourses recently. Hike in short-term capital gains tax and alteration of tax treatment of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in Union Budget 2008-09 announced on 29 February 2008 had dented the sentiment earlier. The fears of a global turmoil in credit markets eased after a steep 0.75% interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 and following better-than-expected results from two major investment banks -- Goldman Sachs Group and Lehman Brothers Holdings. The wholesale price index rose 6.68% in the 12 months to 15 March 2008, surging from the previous week's rise of 5.92%, government data showed on Friday. The rate is highest since 27 January 2007, when inflation was 6.69%. At current 16,371.29, Sensex trades at a PE multiple of 16.37 based on projected FY 2009 EPS of about Rs 1000 for 30 Sensex companies. Foreign institutional investors (FII)' outflow in March 2008 totaled Rs 772.90 crore (till 26 March 2008). FII outflow in calendar year 2008 totaled Rs 11,749.30 crore (till 26 March 2008). Mutual funds (MF)s were net sellers of shares worth Rs 2,173.50 crore in this month, till 26 March 2008.</DIV>

Market to take cues from global equities

The investors will remain cautious after market reeled under global and domestic pressures recently. The next major trigger for the market ...

Post Market Commentary - March 27 2008

<DIV> <TABLE align='"center"'> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align='"center"'></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Indian market closed on a mixed note with NSE Nifty closed with marginal gains while Sensex closed in negative. The market face the volatility since the initial start of the session due to the global concerns like February durables goods report by the US government raised fresh doubts about the economy of US. As per the commerce department, the durables goods fell 1.7%, which was the second monthly fall in a row. Also, the sales of new homes fell b1.8% in February for the fourth consecutive month as the steep slump in housing continued. Also, the expiry of the derivatives contract today adds to the sentiment. From the sectoral front, the Realty and Metal index remained in the limelight as most buying was witnessed from these baskets. While the Mid Cap and Small Cap, which faced the selling pressures at the initial session managed to recover from the fall to post good gains. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 71.27 points at 16,015.56 while NSE Nifty closed up by 1.4 points at 4,830.25. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed higher by 5.23 points and 87.82 points at 6,276.26 and 7,526.78 respectively The market breadth was strong as 1,493 stocks closed in green as against 1223 stocks that closed in red. The BSE Realty index surged 170.92 points to close at 7,651.29. Major gainers are Parsvnath (5.48%), Omaxe (5.16%), HDIL (4.78%), Unitech (3.99%), Penland (3.17%), DLF (2.47%) and Phoenix mill (0.35%). The Metal index closed higher by 108.80 points at 13,853.98. Gainers are Gujarat NRE (6.93%), Hindalco Inds (6.61%), Maharash Sea (6.56%), SH. Precoated (4.98%), Welspun Guj (3.71%) and Sterlite Inds (1.27%). The Bankex index closed lower by 125.14 points at 8,176.66. Major losers are Union bank (4.05%), Axis bank (4.03%), SBI (3.69%), Yes bank (2.77%), Andhra bank (2.37%) and Allahabad bank (2%). The Capital Goods index fell by 79.30 points to close at 13,714.74 as Kirloskar BR (5.95%), Bharat Elec (5.05%), L&T (2.71%) and BEML (1.48%) closed lower while SKF India (7.73%), Suzlon energy (5.04%), Areva (4.03%) and Thermax (3.78%) closed higher. The Oil and Gas index dropped by 63.58 points to close at 10,160.98 as IOCL (3.48%), Aban Offshore (2.68%), HPCL (2.56%), GAIL India (1.33%), Reliance inds (1.03%) and RPL (0.71%) while Cairn India (1.97%), Essar Oil (0.45%) and RNRL (0.3%) closed higher. The IT index decreased by 112.80 points to close at 3,579.75. Losers are Mphasis (6.54%), HCL Tech (4.83%), NIIT Ltd (4.83%), Patni Comp (4.55%), Satyam (4.35%), Educomp Soln (3.53%) and TCS (2.97%). From the FMCG space, Glaxosmithkline Cons (5.09%), HUL (4.10%), ITC (2.54%), Nestle (2.16%), REI Agro (0.56%), Britannia (0.32%) and Tata Tea (0.16%) closed in green.</DIV>

Post Market Commentary - March 27 2008

The Indian market closed on a mixed note with NSE Nifty closed with marginal gains while Sensex closed in negative. The market...

Market Close: Buying continues on the broader base but indices remain flat!

<DIV>Indian markets ended the day on a flat note after a choppy and range bound trade, on F&O expiry day. On back of weak global cues, markets started the day in a negative region and slipped further, just to recover fully in the later half of the trading session. Value buying took the indices above previous close but profit booking on expiry related moves, ended the day with marginal loss. IT, Banking, Auto stock ended in red. Buying interest was seen in Realty, FMCG, Health Care and Power stocks. Small caps outperformed the front line indices while mid caps ended in flat. Asian markets ended mixed, European markets trading in green. Sensex closed down by 71 points at 16015.56. Weighing on the Sensex are losses in Bajaj Auto (621,-4 percent), Satyam (395.05,-4 percent), SBI (1650.45,-4 percent), Infosys (1440.8,-4 percent) and Tata Motors (655.2,-4 percent). Losses are restricted by gains in Hindalco (172.5,+7 percent), HLL (244,+4 percent), Cipla (211.6,+3 percent), Bharti Tele (824.65,+3 percent) and ITC (200.05,+3 percent). Getting a loan for two wheelers is not easy any more. Higher down payments and increase in interest rates will reduce the demand for the bikes. SBI have increased the interest rates by 50 bps to 15.50% while Canara Bank increased to 11.50% from 9.5%. ICICI Bank has the highest interest rates of 23%. Banks said that the increase in the interest rates was due to increase in the cost of borrowing money and also the cost of recovering money has gone up. Down payments in some cases have really gone up as high as 30% of the bikes cost. Citi Financials have stopped giving two wheelers loans. Defaults in this segment have shot up to 5% of the total two wheeler loans from 2% last year. Demand of bikes would decrease and impact the companies as they have to even juggle with the higher input cost which eats up the margins. The impact would be more in the rural areas where most of bikes sold are 100cc and Hero Honda is a big player here. Allahabad Bank has cut the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 25 basis points. The bank informed that it has brought down its BPLR from the 13.25% to 13% with effect from April 1, 2008. It further said that the reduction is in regard to the present market scenario and the need to provide credit to productive sectors at affordable rate. The bank has already announced a cut in the interest rate of fresh housing loans by 25 basis points in both floating and fixed term loans with effect from April 01, 2008 for loans up to Rs 20 lakhs on all maturities. This accounts for major share in banks portfolio. The cut in rate helps to attract more customers to bank but the increasing prices of real estate could not influence the sales too much. Technically Speaking: Sensex traded choppy for entire day. It made an intraday high of 16,111 and low of 15,869. The overall breadth was in favor of Advances while Advances stood at 1467 and Declines at 1245. Turnover was pretty good at Rs 6343 cr. Sensex remains under pressure from 16200-16300 range. We see a good upside if that level is broken, and Sensex can move upto 17100. On the lower side, 15780 and 15600 are good supports.</DIV>

Market Close: Buying continues on the broader base but indices remain flat!

Indian markets ended the day on a flat note after a choppy and range bound trade, on F&O expiry day. On back of weak global cues, marke...

Sensex sheds 71 points

<DIV>A day after the Sensex slipped over 131 points on an all-round selling, the market opened on a negative note. The market was gloomy amid a range-bound trend during intra-day trades influenced by subdued international markets. The Sensex saw strong optimism vanish after adding 61 points to touch the day's high of 16,111. The market thereafter zigzagged between its positives and negatives, but eased in the afternoon on sustained selling in information technology (IT), banking and auto stocks to touch the intra-day low of 15,869. Heavy buying in most of the index pivotal stocks helped the Sensex trim most of its losses towards the close and end the session at 16,016, down 71 points. The Nifty closed with gain of a point at 4,830. However, the market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,490 stocks advanced, 1,223 stocks declined and 61 stocks remained unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Most of the sectoral indices closed with losses. BSE IT, Bankex and BSE Auto index were the major losers and slipped over 1-3% each. However, BSE Realty index soared 2.23% followed by BSE FMCG, HC, Power index and BSE Metal index all of which soared. Among the 30 Sensex stocks, 16 ended in green. Attracting strong buying support, Hindalco Industries surged by 6.61% to Rs172.50, Hindustan Utilities shot up by 4.10% at Rs244, Cipla jumped by 2.89% at Rs211.60, Bharti Airtel advanced by 2.68% at Rs824.65, ITC scaled up by 2.54% at Rs200.05, DLF zoomed 2.47% at Rs674.05, Jaiprakash Associates added 2.30% at Rs231.25 and Reliance Communications gained 2.27% at Rs538.05. Among the laggards, Satyam tumbled 4.35% at Rs395.05, SBI slipped 3.69% at Rs1,650.45, Infosys fell 3.66% at Rs1,440.80, Tata Motors was down 3.56% at Rs655.20, TCS lost 2.97% at Rs853.15, Ranbaxy moved up 2.78% at Rs435.65 and L&T moved down 2.71% at Rs2,963. Over 1.22 crore RNRL shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Ispat Industries (1.16 crore shares), IFCI (0.93 crore shares), Nagarjuna Constructions (0.68 crore shares) and RPL (0.59 crore shares).</DIV>

Sensex sheds 71 points

A day after the Sensex slipped over 131 points on an all-round selling, the market opened on a negative note. The market was gloomy amid a ...

Weak economic data dampens US Market sentiment

<DIV> Consumer Confidence hits five year low sending dollar down against rivals <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> Alternately up and down since the opening bell, the major stock indices closed mixed after the Conference Board reported U.S. consumers' confidence fell in March. Other than that, a couple of other weak batch of economic reports took its toll on the market. Strong forecast from Monsanto was also overlooked. Six of the ten major economic sectors finished in positive territory. Materials posted the largest gain. In the mornings session, the Dow was down by more than 100 points. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a loss of 16 points at 12,532. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 14.3 points at 2,341. S&P 500 finished higher by 3.1 points at 1,353. Seventeen out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today. Home Depot and Bank of America led the group of Dow losers. The day started with some weak batch of economic data. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March hit a 5-year low at 64.5 and checked in well below the market's expectation for a reading of 73.5. Confidence had dropped seven of the last eight months, and is down 42% since last July. Also, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which measures prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas, declined 10.7% on a y-o-y basis, the largest drop on record since the measurement began in 2001. On the positive side, shares of Monsanto gained almost 10% after the St. Louis company lifted its projected earnings for 2008. The tech sector got a lift today after Yahoo! was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup. All Indian ADRs ended in green today. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the two topmost gainers. The two ADRs gained 2.6% and 5.7% respectively today. Crude prices ended modestly higher today as the dollar slumped. Traders also speculated that tomorrow's inventory report by Energy Department will show rise in gasoline and crude inventories. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $101.22/barrel (higher by $0.36/barrel or 0.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices earlier dropped to $99.3. Crude prices are 65% higher on a yearly basis. In the currency market today, the euro traded as high as $1.5619 after a report showed consumer confidence in the U.S. fell more than forecast this month, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve will have to cut its target bank-lending rate by as much as 50 basis points next month to revive economic growth. The dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.8% to 72.27. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 4 billion, and advancing stocks outran those declining nearly 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, nearly 2.1 billion shares were exchanged, and advancing stocks topped those declining 9 to 5. Tomorrow, February's Durable Goods Orders are due prior to the opening bell. February's New Home Sales data and the weekly oil inventory report are due after the market opens. </DIV>

Weak economic data dampens US Market sentiment

Consumer Confidence hits five year low sending dollar down against rivals Alternately up and down since the opening bell, the major st...

RIL, RCom March 2008 futures at premium

<DIV> Turnover in F&O segment surges <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> Nifty March 2008 futures were at 4901.50, at a premium of 24 points as compared to spot closing of 4877.50. The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 66,627.57 crore, which was higher than Rs 42,610.26 crore on Monday, 24 March 2008. Reliance Industries (RIL) March 2008 futures were at premium at 2318.50 compared to the spot closing of 2313.80. Reliance Communications (RCom) March 2008 futures were at premium at 539.25 compared to the spot closing of 538.50. Reliance Energy March 2008 futures were at discount at 1292 compared to the spot closing of 1298.50. In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty gained 267.65 points or 5.81% at 4877.50. </DIV>

RIL, RCom March 2008 futures at premium

Turnover in F&O segment surges Nifty March 2008 futures were at 4901.50, at a premium of 24 points as compared to spot closing of ...

Crude ends higher

<DIV> Prices manage to gain as dollar slides lower Crude prices ended modestly higher today, Tuesday, 25 March, 2008 as the dollar slumped due to some discouraging economic data. Traders also speculated that tomorrow's inventory report by Energy Department will show rise in gasoline and crude inventories. Since the past few days, prices had been continuing to slip ever since Federal Reserve decided to cut overnight lending rates by 75 bps to bring it down to 2.25% to strengthen the economy last week. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $101.22/barrel (higher by $0.36/barrel or 0.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices earlier dropped to $99.3. Crude prices are 65% higher on a yearly basis. The crude ended last week lower by more than $7 (6.8%). In the currency market today, the euro traded as high as $1.5619 after a report showed consumer confidence in the U.S. fell more than forecast this month, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve will have to cut its target bank-lending rate by as much as 50 basis points next month to revive economic growth. The dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.8% to 72.27. A stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, crude prices, denominated in dollars, tend to rise when the greenback falls, as a weaker U.S. currency makes crude less expensive to buyers holding other currencies. It also lowers oil producers' dollar revenue and forces them to raise prices. Traders speculated that tomorrow's inventory report will show an increase of 1.5 million barrels of crude product inventories for last week. Brent crude oil for May settlement today rose $0.74 (0.7%) to $100.60 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The London benchmark rose 54% in FY 2007, the most since 1999 when prices more than doubled. Natural gas gains 26% for the year Natural gas advanced on speculation reduced output from nuclear, hydro and coal power plants will increase its use for power generation. Natural gas for April delivery rose 9 cents (1%) to settle at $9.419 per million British thermal units. Against this backdrop, May reformulated gasoline rose 3.84 cents at $2.671 a gallon, May heating oil lost 3.4 cents to $2.8401 a gallon. Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude's biggest yearly gain in five years. OPEC left production targets unchanged on its 5 March meeting at Vienna, giving 12 of its 13 members a combined quota of 29.67 million barrels a day. Also over the weekend, it was reported that OPEC President Chakib Khelil said oil prices would range between $80 and $110 a barrel for the rest of 2008. At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 4,016/barrel, lower by Rs 65 (1.6%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for April delivery closed at Rs 378.9/mmtbu, lower by Rs 0.2/mmtbu (0.05%).</DIV>

Crude ends higher

Prices manage to gain as dollar slides lower Crude prices ended modestly higher today, Tuesday, 25 March, 2008 as the dollar slumped due ...

Post Market Commentary - March 25 2008

<DIV>The Indian market spurted today to cross the 16,000 mark and closed with handsome gains. Tracking the favoring cues from the global markets, the domestic market opened on a firm note and kept on marching forward throughout the trading session on the back of heavy buying across the sectoral indices. The domestic market rallied by taking the positive cues from the US as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to increase its bid to acquire Bear Stearns Cos. JP Morgan lifted its offer for Bear Stearns to 10 U.S. dollars per share from 2 dollars. The revised plan is aimed at soothing Bear Stearns shareholders upset over JP Morgan''s earlier offer. Also the economic data pointed to signs of stability that showed US new homes sales had risen by 3% in February 2008. From the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices posted smart gains. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 928.09 points at 16,217.49 and NSE Nifty closed up by 267.65 points 4,877.50. The Mid Caps and Small Caps closed higher by 368.96 points and 334.52 points at 6,174.49 and 7,284.64 respectively. The market breadth remained strong as 2,075 stocks closed in green as against 640 stocks that closed in red. From the Sensex pack, JP associate (16.38%), DLF (13.47%) and Reliance Energy (12.97%), Infosys (9.64%) and Wipro (9.02%) were the major gainers. The Metal index grew by 820.03 points to close at 13,607.64. Scrips that advanced are Gujarat NRE (19.44%), Welspun Guj (12.93%), Jindal Steel (8.23%), JSW Steel (7.68%), SAIL (7.18%), Tata Steel (6.98%) and Hindalco inds (6.04%). The BSE Realty index closed up by 645.06 points at 7,451.24. Leading the rally are Anant Raj (19.60%), HDIL (13.89%), DLF (13.47%), Unitech (10.21%), Ansal infra (6.80%), Parsvnath (6.64%) and Omaxe (4.52%). The Capital Goods index surged 641.69 points to close at 13,867.60. Major gainers are Praj Inds (10.29%), Alstom Projects (9.83%), BEML (8.77%), BHEL (7.55%), ABB (5.12%) and L&T (4.01%). The Bankex index closed higher by 626.99 points at 8,371.34. Gainers are Yes bank (20.53%), Kotak bank (13.36%), Union bank (11.01%), Axis bank (10.27%), Allahabad bank (9.78%) and ICICI bank (9.37%). The Oil and Gas index advanced by 577.89 points to close at 10,308.80 as Essar Oil (12.82%), Aban Offshore (9.57%), ONGC (7.25%), Cairn India (7.05%), RNRL (6.67%), IOCL (6.62%) and RPL (4.74%) closed in positive. The IT index closed up by 264.39 points at 3,686.35 as Aptech (22.72%), Educomp Soln (16.48%), NIIT Techno (12.73%), Infosys (9.64%), Wipro (9.02%), I-Flex (8.90%), TCS (6.38%), HCL Tech (4.34%) closed in green .</DIV>

Post Market Commentary - March 25 2008

The Indian market spurted today to cross the 16,000 mark and closed with handsome gains. Tracking the favoring cues from the global markets...

Market Close: Brave show by index But broader markets bleeds..

<DIV>After a long holiday mood Indian indices had a volatile day with heavyweights managing to close in positive but the midcap and smallcap index close in red. Buying was seen only in selective large-cap and banking stocks. Realty counter was the worst hit for the day after Bombay high court declared some of the developing land as the forest land. The metal stocks tumbled over 4% each. Banking space was in focus but in the mean while Markets slipped from the day's high and traded in red after heavy selling pressure intensified in the mid session. Inflation on friday came out high at 5.92%. Globally most of the Asians markets were closed which kept market in range session. Positive cues from the US front keep the market in an affirmative mood. Investors piped orders into final hour of trading after renewed buying activity seen at the lower levels. Finally markets managed to close higher. Sensex ended up by 295 points at 15289.4. It was helped by gains in HDFC (2384.05,+8 percent), Wipro (398.75,+6 percent), HDFC Bk (1337.45,+5 percent), ICICI Bk (804.55,+5 percent) and Dr Reddys (564.9,+4 percent). Restricting the gains were Bajaj Auto (591.5,-8 percent), TISCO (592.45,-7 percent), Rel Energy (1150.9,-5 percent), Maruti (811.7,-1 percent) and Ranbaxy (446.25,-1 percent). Aries Agro (AAL) is a producer and supplier of quality plant nutrition solutions, opened a new manufacturing unit for secondary and micro nutrients as well as water soluble major fertilizers. The company invested Rs. 2.45 Cr (excluding land cost) into the new plant, which inaugurated today and will serve over 3 million farmers across the different states in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa. The new manufacturing facility is located at Andhra Pradesh which will be the largest with state-of-the-art unit of the company. It is also the largest manufacturing unit in India for micronutrients, mainly dedicated for manufacturing two flagship brands, namely, `Aries Agromin Max` and `Aries Chelamin`. Micronutrients play a very important role in key metabolic events such as chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis. Amtek Auto has joined hands with a leading North American wagon supplier American Rail Car Industries to set up a capacity to produce 5,000 wagons. Plant would get operational in June 09 initially will start producing 2000 freight wagons following the next 2-3 years the plant would run at its optimum capacity of 5,000 wagons. Recently in the Union Budget the Railways had announced plans to procure 20,000 wagons this year. The two major players Titagarh Wagons and Texmaco individually have the capability to produce around 1,800-2,000 wagons. The demand and supply scenario looks to be positive for the wagon players. Amtek is well diversified player from its component business for automobiles to equipment for railways, surface transport and aero space. Dabur Pharma was in spotlight to end the day up by 16% after the company reported that it has received a approval to sell the irinotecan hydrochloride injection in Italy and Denmark. Irinotecan hydrochloride injection is the generic version of Pfizer's Camptosar. There was a block deal of 38 lakh Dabur Pharma shares on the Indian bourses. Technically Speaking: Overall market traded well at support levels. Sensex touched intraday high of 15351 and low of 15056. Overall market turnover stood at Rs 4663 Cr. Market breadth was in favor of Decliners, where the Advances stood at 559, Declines stood at 2130. Sensex faces resistance at 15500 which will be a crucial level considering that expiry is just 3days. If markets stabilise above 15500 we might see more up move upto 16100. A failure to cross 15500 will bring the Sensex back to 14800 levels.</DIV>

Market Close: Brave show by index But broader markets bleeds..

After a long holiday mood Indian indices had a volatile day with heavyweights managing to close in positive but the midcap and smallcap ind...

Post Market Commentary - March 24 2008

<DIV>The Indian market made a huge turnaround towards the final trading hours of the session to closed with handsome gains on the back of selective buying across the sectoral indices. Though the domestic market opened with a bang tracking the favoring cues from he global markets but lost the momentum towards the mid session as the heavy profit booking prevailed. But the market gathered the momentum towards the final hours to close with good gains. However, the Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks were out of favor as heavy selling was seen from these baskets. From the sectoral front, the metal and realty stocks were the most hit as they faced heavy selling pressures while the Banking stocks remained the centre of attraction as the investors showed more buying interest from these counters. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 294.57 points at 15,289.40 and NSE Nifty closed up by 35.9 points 4609.85. The Mid Caps and Small Caps closed lower by 158.57 points and 272.08 points at 5,805.53 and 6,950.12 respectively. The market breadth remained weak as 2149 stocks closed in red as against 535 stocks that closed in green. From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel 7.04%, Reliance Energy 4.61% and DLF 4% reported as the top loser while HDFC 7.73%, Wipro 5.88% and HDFC bank 5.31% reported as the top gainers. The Bankex index surged 249.09 points at 7,744.35. Gainers are PNB 5.58%, HDFC bank 5.31%, ICICI bank 4.98%, Yes bank 4.08%, Cent BOP 4.46%, BOI 2.83%, SBI 2.67% and IOB 1.21%. The IT index closed up by 52.33 points at 3,421.96 as HCL Tech 7.45%, Wipro 5.88%, TCS 1.66%, Infosys 1.45% and Aptech 0.90% closed in green. The Capital Goods index closed higher by 130.19 points at 13,225.91. Major gainers are L&T 3.46%, BHEL 1.25%, Elecon Eng 0.40%, Jyoti Structures 0.29% and ABB 0.13%. The Metal index declined by 710.94 points to close at 12,787.61. Scrips that fell are Gujrat NRE 16.95%, JSW Steel 11.98%, Welspun Guj 7.71%, Tata Steel 7.04%, Bhushan Steel 5.86%, Jindal Steel 5.45% and Sesa Goa 4.40%. The BSE Realty index closed lower by 281.52 points at 6,806.18. Major losers are Purvankara 16.20%, Parsvnath 9.69%, Akruti City 7.49%, Unitech 5.24%, Indbul Real 4.57% and DLF 4%. The Oil and Gas index closed marginally up by 13.35 points at 9,730.91 as BPCL 4.12%, Reliance Inds 1.93%, HPCL 1.32% and ONGC 0.99% closed higher.</DIV>

Post Market Commentary - March 24 2008

The Indian market made a huge turnaround towards the final trading hours of the session to closed with handsome gains on the back of select...

Relief rally likely

<DIV>The Nifty almost revisited its January lows of 4,450 before bouncing back a wee bit. The index slumped to a low of 4,469, recovered to a high of 4,718 and eventually ended with a loss of 172 points at 4,574. The index broke its yearly S3 (support 3) level of 4,500 on an intra-day basis twice in the week, but somehow managed to close above it. Going by the current trend, the chances of the index testing lower levels of 4,100 and 3,500 remain high. The charts are indicating an oversold zone. Hence, a significant pullback cannot be ruled out. However, the rally would just be a relief rally and the markets may drop again. The significant indicator is the Stochastic Slow, which is in a highly oversold zone. The per cent D value is 9 and the per cent K is at 7.4. There will be a buy confirmation once the per cent K crosses the per cent D level. Both are in an oversold zone as they are below the 30 per cent mark. The 14-day Stochastic Slow is drawn with two lines - per cent K and per cent D - with a 3-day range. The bearish phase will reverse after the Nifty moves back above the 200-DMA (daily moving average), which is 5,080, and closes above the yearly S1 (support 1) at 5,135. The index may find support around 4,400 this week. The Sensex moved in a range of 789 points last week and broke yet another psychological mark, of 15,000. The index touched a low of 14,677 before finally ending with a loss of 766 points at 14,995. We maintain our previous view that the index would drop to 12,000, with some support around 13,900. However, given the oversold position, a relief rally may be in the offing. In case of a sharp pullback, the index may even rally up to 16,650 to 17,200 levels in the near term. The Sensex is likely to find support around 14,700-14,600-14,500 this week, while it may face resistance around 15,300-15,400-15,500 on the upside</DIV>

Relief rally likely

The Nifty almost revisited its January lows of 4,450 before bouncing back a wee bit. The index slumped to a low of 4,469, recovered to a hi...

US likely to record no growth

<DIV>The Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected zero growth for the US Economy in the second quarter of 2008, indicating that America is inching towards a recession. "It may be premature to declare a recession, but with the pace of activity so far below potential, economic slack is widening rapidly," the OECD said pointing out that economic growth rate was likely to slip from 0.1 per cent in Q1 to zero in the second quarter. Giving growth projections for the G7 nations (US, Japan, Euro Area, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Canada), the OECD report said Japan and Europe were also likely to witness slowdown in growth. Japan, it added, is expected to grow at 0.3 per cent in the first quarter and 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, it added. In addition to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the OECD attributed the slowdown in the US Economy to factors like soaring energy and food prices. "The effects (of the crisis) on demand are likely to be significant but are hard to gauge", the report added. The report said that the residential investment slump shaved off around one percentage point of the US gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past two years and the trend would continue in the current year. "Pressures have tended to spread to new Markets and institutions, reaching beyond the origin of the US sub-prime mortgages and derived products and leading to a generalized wariness and re-pricing of risks" the report said.</DIV>

US likely to record no growth

The Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected zero growth for the US Economy in the second quar...

Fed to the rescue

<DIV> <TABLE align='"center"'> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align='"center"'></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank reported Thursday. The lending is part of a major effort by the Fed to help a financial system in danger of freezing. Those large firms averaged USD 13.4 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending facility. The report does not identify the borrowers. The Fed, in a bold move Sunday, agreed for the first time to let big investment houses get emergency loans directly from the central bank. This mechanism, similar to one available for commercial banks for years, got under way Monday and will continue for at least six months. It was the broadest use of the Fed's lending authority since the 1930s. Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley said Wednesday they had begun to test the new lending mechanism. On Wednesday alone, lending reached USD 28.8 billion, according to the Fed report. The Fed created a way for financially strapped investment firms to have regular access to a source of short-term cash. This lending facility is seen as similar to the Fed's "discount window" for banks. Commercial banks and investment companies pay 2.5 percent in interest for overnight loans from the Fed. Investment houses can put up a range of collateral, including investment-grade mortgage backed securities. The Fed, in another rare move last Friday, agreed to let JP Morgan Chase secure emergency financing from the central bank to rescue the venerable Wall Street firm Bear Stearns from collapse. Two days later, the Fed back a deal for JP Morgan to take over Bear Stearns. Thursday's report offered insight on how much credit was extended to Bear Stearns via JP Morgan through the transaction the Fed approved last Friday. Average daily borrowing came to USD 5.5 billion for the week ending Wednesday. Separately, the Fed said it will make USD 75 billion of Treasury securities available to big investment firms next week. Investment houses can bid on a slice of the securities at a Fed auction next Thursday; a second is set for April 3. The Fed will allow investment firms to borrow up to USD 200 billion in safe Treasury securities by using some of their more risky investments as collateral. By allowing this, the Fed is hoping to take pressure off financial companies and make them more inclined to lend to people and businesses. The housing collapse and credit crunch have led to record-high home foreclosures and forced financial companies to rack up multibillion losses in complex mortgage investments that turned sour. In the past day and weeks, the Fed has taken extraordinary moves aimed at making sure that problems in credit and financial markets do not sink the economy.</DIV>

Fed to the rescue

Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency...

Mumbai Realty - cooling down?

<DIV>In what could be a sign of things to come in Mumbai's overheated real estate market, two of the five plots at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) put on the blocks have found no takers. While the development may cheer those who wish to buy new homes in Mumbai, the lukewarm response to the auction spells bad news for the seller i.e. the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). According to reports, MMRDA received Rs13.22bn from two residential and one commercial plot as against Rs27.9bn the authority earned just three months ago for similar deals. Two plots, both with a reserve price of Rs 3 lakh per sq. m. - a 7,131 sq. m. commercial plot and a 6,402 sq. m. plot meant for a club house - had absolutely no takers. The third, a 5,951 sq. m. commercial plot, went to sole bidder Jet Airways for Rs8.26bn. Jet's winning bid of Rs3.44 lakh per sq. m. was about 10% more than MMRDA's asking price. Meanwhile, Starlight System - a collaboration of Ajay Piramal group and Suntech Realty - quoted three times MMRDA's asking price for two residential plots measuring 7,050 sq. m. The company beat eight other bidders by quoting a record price of Rs 3.52 lakh per sq. m., making it the biggest residential deal for MMRDA till date.</DIV>

Mumbai Realty - cooling down?

In what could be a sign of things to come in Mumbai's overheated real estate market, two of the five plots at the Bandra Kurla Complex ...

No insider trading on RPL - Reliance

<DIV>Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) said the company and its other group companies have complied with all rules and regulations. The Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL was reacting to media reports that capital market regulator SEBI was probing alleged insider trading in Reliance Petroleum shares. RIL said it will cooperate and provide all the necessary information to the concerned authorities. SEBI is investigating trading in Reliance Petroleum shares, the Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said in the Rajya Sabha. "SEBI has informed that it has initiated an examination in the matter," Bansal said. The minister was responding to a question by SP leader Amar Singh on whether the Government has acted against the promoters or affiliates of RIL regarding insider trading activities in Reliance Petroleum. In November, RIL raised Rs40.23bn (US$1bn) by selling 4% stake in Reliance Petroleum. While actual date for the stake sale is not known, shares of Reliance Petroleum moved up sharply between late October and early November</DIV>

No insider trading on RPL - Reliance

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) said the company and its other group companies have complied with all rules and regulations. The Mukesh Amba...

Advance Tax Numbers

<DIV><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="50">50 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="BPCL">BPCL </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="240">240 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="275">275 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Castrol">Castrol </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="46">46 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="24">24 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Central Bank of India">Central Bank of India </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="221">221 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="0">- </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Dena Bank">Dena Bank </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="50">50 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="10">10 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="HDFC Bank">HDFC Bank </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="250">250 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="165">165 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="ICICI Bank">ICICI Bank </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="250">250 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="125">125 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Indian Hotels">Indian Hotels </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="44">44 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="2">2 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="IndusInd Bank">IndusInd Bank </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="19">19 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="12">12 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Larsen & Toubro">Larsen & Toubro </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="170">170 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="80">80 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Mahindra & Mahindra">Mahindra & Mahindra </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="116">116 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="83">83 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="MRPL">MRPL </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="100">100 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="20">20 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Reliance Industries">Reliance Industries </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="443">443 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="118">118 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="SBI">SBI </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="1418">1,418 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="690">690 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Tata Chemicals">Tata Chemicals </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="90">90 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="65">65 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Tata Motors">Tata Motors </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="75">75 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="190">190 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Tata Power">Tata Power </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="43">43 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="0">- </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="TCS">TCS </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="115">115 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="20">20 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Tech Mahindra">Tech Mahindra </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="0">- </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="5.5">6 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Tata Steel">Tata Steel </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="300">300 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="350">350 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="UltraTech Cement">UltraTech Cement </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="155">155 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="110">110 </TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16"><TD class=xl25 style="HEIGHT: 12pt" height="16" nowrap="nowrap" str="Union Bank">Union Bank </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="130">130 </TD><TD class=xl24 nowrap="nowrap" align="right" num="100">100</TD></TR></DIV>

Advance Tax Numbers

50 BPCL 240 275 Castrol 46 24 Central Bank of India 221 - Dena Bank 50 10 HDFC Bank 250 165 ICICI Bank 250 125 Indian Hotels 44 ...

Market to remain volatile ahead of derivatives expiry

<DIV> Volatility on the bourses may rise next week ahead of the expiry of March 2008 derivative contracts on Thursday, 27 March 2008. The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 cut its key interest rate by 0.75%. Wall Street expects the Fed to cut interest rates further next month, but any future cuts are likely to be smaller. Marketmen are keenly awaiting Q4 and full year March 2008 results from Indian corporates. Robust corporate advance tax payments in Q4 March 2008 indicate that corporate profit growth will be strong in the quarter. Advance tax figures showed banks, hospitality and software firms are doing better than sectors like automobiles and cement. A torrent of bad news such as meltdown in global markets, earnings downgrade recently by brokerages of ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro, lower-than-expected industrial production data for January 2008 and a surge in inflation created havoc on the bourses recently. Hike in short-term capital gains tax and alteration of tax treatment of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in Union Budget 2008-09 announced on 29 February 2008 had dented the sentiment earlier. Market suffered losses for third straight week ended Wednesday, 19 March 2008 as selling pressure continued for pivotals on one side following global sell-off and budget blues and lack of buying on the other. The BSE Sensex lost 765.69 points or 4.85% to 14,994.83 for the week ended Wednesday, 19 March 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty slipped 171.85 points or 3.62% in the week. The BSE Mid-Cap index lost 619.35 points or 9.40% to 5,964.10 for the week ended Wednesday, 19 March 2008. The BSE Small-Cap index slumped 857.30 points or 10.61% to 7,222.20 in the week. The BSE Sensex has now lost 6,211.94 points or 29.29% from its all time high of 21,206.77 hit on 10 January 2008. At current 14,994.83, Sensex trades at a PE multiple of 14.28 to 14.99, based on projected FY 2009 EPS of Rs 1000-to-Rs 1050 for 30 Sensex companies. Inflation has risen above the Reserve Bank of India's caution limit of 5%. Annual inflation rate based on the wholesale price index increased to 5.11% for the week ended 1 March 2008. Inflation rate stood at 6.51% for the corresponding week in the previous year.</DIV>

Market to remain volatile ahead of derivatives expiry

Volatility on the bourses may rise next week ahead of the expiry of March 2008 derivative contracts on Thursday, 27 March 2008. The US Fe...

Weekly Close: Trouble in shortened week..

<DIV>Downtrend continued to intensify during the week. Holiday shortened week as market will remain closed for 2 days on eve of Id and Good Friday. Week start of with big slide as indices slipped over 900 odd points. Bear sterns hit due to subprime mortgage which brought in some levels of concerns in Indian Markets. Second day witnessed a mixed trend with no trigger but indices ralied but tumbled to close flat. Advance tax payments for the final quarter have risen by 110% compared to last year, which indcates a good earnings from these Corporates. As fed cut the interest rate, markets across rejoiced as Asian ended in green. Indian indices opened strong but normally investors tend to book profits over weekends to avoid risks so preferred to book profit. The sentiments also remained weak and kept funds out of the market. Yesterday, Fed cut the interest rate by 75 bps and gave the boost across the globe. The Fed also cut discount rate by 25 bps early this week. The efforts to save economy continues..but it will take time to bear fruits. The worries have now started extending to other parts of the world like Europe and Japan. We don't see condition improving in near term. Left and UPA met to discuss on nuke deal..but outcome was zero. Both parties continue to maintain their stand. Left is unlikely to soften there stand and Congress would try to push the deal in full force as it has improved its image among mass through Budget 2008-09. Sensex lost 4.5% while the Nifty lost 3.3% for the week. Small cap lost -10.5%, Midcap -8.5%. Gains were led by Ambuja +2.25%, Bharti +2.96%, Cipla +1.1%, Reddy +1%, Unilever +0.07%, Satyam +2.46%, Tata Mot +1.9%, TCS +0.65% and Wipro 1+.56%. Loss were extended by Hindalco -14.5%, ICICI -11%, Tata Power -10.8%, Tata Steel -11%, Reliance -7.2%, RPL -6.75%,. Other loser were BPCL -8%, Glaxo -9.5%, Grasim -8.8%, Hero -8.2%, HPCL -6%, HDFC -9.6%, REL - 6.9%, SBI -6.4% STER -7% Unitech -4.7%. IT counter bounced..We believe that it was dead cat bounce. Fundamentally, things have not improved. Financial sector is US is bleeding and this is one of major client for Indian IT cos. Bear and Stearns (B&S) bail out by Fed actually shocked the global markets. B&S is one of the client for Satyam and TCS. Thought IT counter is bottomed out..Caution is advised. Indian banks are not left out of the subprime woes. ICICI and SBI are said to have large exposure to forex uncertainties. This may continue to weigh on the Banks counter. Clarity on farm loan waiver has given some ease but no relief for now. With inching inflation probability of interest easing seems bleak in short term. Our research: Spice Jet most affordable low-fare airline reported healthy numbers for the last quarter. Topline has almost doubled to Rs 408crore while at the EBIDTA level witnessed loss of around Rs 17.4 Crs which was mainly on the back of higher crude price (above USD 90-100/barrel) weighed negatively on the airlines profitability Capacity growth in the industry has also showed slower growth in the quarter which implies a cautious approach. Spice reported PAT was Rs 9.34 Cr in which includes profits from sale of Aircrafts. Valuations appears to be fine now but Crude weight on it however, we believe that this is one stock to have in the airline Industry if at all. Do have a look at our detailed research note. A strong run up for the overseas markets, helped Sensex finished the day with 1%. Although, the day ended with gains, markets finished the day near the lows of the days trading range and that is not exactly a sign of strength. Both Sensex and Nifty are below their multi year trendline and charts are not yet suggesting any reversal in the trend. The immediate major resistance for the Sensex is placed at the gap area of 15800 and until markets close above this level with volumes, any bounce could remain just an oversold bounce. Support for the sensex exist at 14700 and below that downtrend can continue to 14100 levels</DIV>

Weekly Close: Trouble in shortened week..

Downtrend continued to intensify during the week. Holiday shortened week as market will remain closed for 2 days on eve of Id and Good Frid...

Sensex slumps 951 points in second biggest single day fall

<DIV class=post-body>A setback in global markets rattled domestic bourses today as the Sensex posted its biggest single-day point fall. The fall on the bourses accentuated in late trade as BSE Sensex fell more than 1,000 points at the fag end of the trading session. Heavy selling was seen in banking stocks. ICICI Bank, HDFC, Hindalco Industries, Reliance Communications, Tata Steel and Reliance Energy were among the top losers from Sensex pack. The market breadth was weak. The market tumbled today as the fire sale of ailing US bank Bear Stearns and the Federal Reserve's emergency cut in its discount rate intensified concerns that there could be more victims of the global credit crisis. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 951.03 points or 6.03% at 14,809.49. It hit a low of 14,739.72 in late trade, its lowest level since late August 2007. At day's low Sensex fell 1,020.80 points in late trade. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 242.70 points or 5.11% at 4,503.10. The fifth-largest US investment bank Bear Stearns said on Friday, 14 March 2008, its liquidity position had deteriorated significantly in the last 24 hours and a cash crunch forced it to turn to the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase for emergency funds. JPMorgan said on Sunday, 16 March 2008, it would buy Bear Stearns in an all-stock deal, and that the Fed would fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets. In a major development, the US Federal Reserve on Sunday, 16 March 2008, cut its discount rate to 3.25% from 3.5% and said that it was creating a facility to let primary dealers borrow at that rate. "Global meltdown and sell-off by troubled foreign institutional investors in domestic markets, is playing havoc with sentiments of domestic investors. Fear of more disturbing news from global markets is weighing heavy on traders' mind. Even long term domestic players like insurance firms and mutual funds are staying clear of the market", says D.D. Sharma, Senior Vice President, Research, Anand Rathi Financial Service. Going by valuations, the current fall provides a great buying opportunity for investors, he feels. A fall in the dollar to a record low against the euro, sent spot gold and crude futures hurling towards record highs, deepening concerns of rising inflationary pressures throughout the Asian region. US stock futures fell in Asian trade, pointing to a sharply lower Wall Street open later in the day, as global investors wonder if other financial institutions might need rescuing. S&P 500 futures were down 26.70 points, while Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 203 points. BSE Clocked a turnover of Rs 5,701 crore today 17 March 2008 compared to a turnover of Rs 5,914.99 on Friday,14 March 2008. Nifty March 2008 futures were at 4477, at a discount of 26.10 points as compared to spot closing of 4503.10. The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 40,058.11 crore, which was lower than Rs 40,184.57 crore on Friday, 14 March 2008. As per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 658.22 crore today. Local funds bought shares worth a net Rs 211.48 crore. Consumer durable index was major loser among sectoral indices on BSE. It fell more than 10%. Fertiliser stocks plunged. All the BSE secoral indices were in red. The market breadth was weak: On BSE 2,405 shares declined as compared to 282 shares that advanced. 43 shares remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 6.97 % to 6,124.35 and BSE Small-Cap index declined 6.9% to 7,522.23. Both these indices underperformed Sensex. BSE Consumer Durables index (down 9.69% to 3,638.56), BSE Metal index (down 7.54% to 13,725.52), BSE Bankex (down 9.06% to 7,569.16), BSE Realty index (down 7.86% to 7,106.53) , BSE Capital Goods index (down 6.43% to 12,706.31) underperformed Sensex. BSE PSU index (down 4.97% to 7,153.44), BSE IT index (down 3.2% to 3,297.71), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 5.34% to 9,801.86),BSE Power index (down 5.58% to 2,973.68), BSE HealthCare index (down 5.2% to 3,621.90), BSE Auto index (down 4.62% to 4,329.46), and BSE FMCG index (down 3.18% to 2,119.60) outperformed Sensex. India's largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 6.08% to Rs 2,180.60.. Jaiprakash Associates (down 11.94% to Rs 208.05), HDFC (down 11.07% to Rs 2,225.55), Reliance Energy (down 8.13% to Rs 1,190.80), Hindalco Industries (down 9.2% to Rs 164.85), Tata Steel (down 7.93% to Rs 658.50), Grasim Industries (down 6.55% to Rs 2,670.85) and Larsen & Toubro (down 7.03% to Rs 2,703.50), were major losers from Sensex pack. Banking stocks declined further in late trade. India's largest commercial bank by net profit State Bank of India declined 4.72% to Rs 1,633.40. ICICI Bank (down 13.76% to Rs 757.40), HDFC Bank (down 5.89% to Rs 1,238.50) edged lower. Consumer durables stocks extended losses. Titan Industries (down 13.03% to Rs 930.05), Rajesh Exports (down 15.58% to Rs 79.65), Videocon Industries (down 7.46% to Rs 279.30) and Blue Star (down 10.26% to Rs 380.50) edged lower. India's biggest power-equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) declined 4.41% to Rs 1,796.05. As per reports, the company will acquire Vizag-based Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels by the first half of 2008/09. India's largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications fell 6.87% to Rs 482.75. It added 1.61 million mobile subscribers in February 2008. The firm had 42.6 million mobile subscribers at the end of January 2008. Reliance Power declined 6.45% to Rs 315.70. It has reportedly struck a deal to buy out a coal mine in Indonesia. The valuation of the coal mine, based on its reserves, is estimated to be around Rs 20,000 crore. Fertiliser stocks slumped. National Fertiliser (down 13.45% to Rs 38.60), Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers (down 10% to Rs 18.20), Nagarjuna Chemicals & Fertilisers (down 7.79% to Rs 36.10), Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals (down 7.23% to Rs 48.75), Coromandel Fertilisers (down 7.81% to Rs 103.30), Deepak Fertilisers (down 12.85% to Rs 92.60) edged lower. Cairn India declined 6.61% to Rs 213.30. The company said today, 17 March 2008 before market hours its board will meet on 17 March 2008 to consider a preferential issue of equity shares. Reliance Natural Resources clocked the highest volume of 2.26 crore shares on BSE. Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (1.54 crore shares), Reliance Petroleum (1.37 crore shares), V-Guard Industries (1.3 crore shares) and Ispat Industries (1.11 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order. Reliance Industries clocked highest turnover of Rs 274.22 crore on BSE. GSS America Infotech (Rs 237.04 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 232.49 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 215.46 crore ) and Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (Rs 206.98 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order. European markets which opened after Indian markets were weak. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and UK's FTSE 100 were down between 2.23% to 3.29%. In Asia, key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 1.61% to 5.18%. The news about Bear Stearns hit US stocks hard on Friday, 14 March 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 194.65 points, or 1.60% to end at 11,951.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 27.34 points, or 2.08%, to 1,288.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 51.12 points, or 2.26%, to 2,212.49. A crucial meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal will be held in New Delhi today. As per media reports, the government is expected to hand over the Left leaders copies of the draft India-specific safeguards agreement it has reached with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Government is also likely to brief them on the over three-month long negotiations it held with the IAEA on the safeguards agreement, reports suggest. The meeting comes in the backdrop of major Left parties asserting that they would withdraw support to the Congress-led government if it went ahead with the nuclear deal with the US. A torrent of bad news has spooked bourses in the past few days with buyers deserting the market. Adding to the woes of domestic bourses already hit by tumbling global markets were earnings downgrade recently by brokerages of ICICI Bank, India's biggest private sector bank in terms of net profit, and Larsen & Toubro, India's biggest engineering and construction firm in terms of order book; lower-than-expected industrial production data for January 2008; and a surge in inflation. The hike in short-term capital gains tax and alteration of tax treatment of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in Union Budget 2008-09 announced on 29 February 2008 has earlier dented sentiment. Buyers have stayed away from the bourses on continued uncertainty about the extent and duration of the credit crisis caused by the defaults in the US sub-prime mortgage market. <DIV style="CLEAR: both"></DIV></DIV> <DIV class=post-footer> </DIV>

Sensex slumps 951 points in second biggest single day fall

A setback in global markets rattled domestic bourses today as the Sensex posted its biggest single-day point fall. The fall on the bourses ...